9th over: England 32-0 (led by 142 on first innings; Trescothick 16, Strauss 13) Quiet first over from McGrath after lunch, as I privately and then publicly lament the unfulfilled promise of last night's outing.

10th over: England 41-0 (led by 142 on first innings; Trescothick 25, Strauss 13) Trescothick greets Lee with a crunching cut stroke for four, and then slams a pull imperiously through midwicket for another. England lead by 183; should they declare now against these substandard Aussies?

11th over: England 42-0 (led by 142 on first innings; Trescothick 27, Strauss 12) It is pretty bizarre that Warne isn't bowling - I'm sure he will be soon - and his inexplicable exclusion from the attack until halfway through the afternoon session on the first day takes on more sinister connotations in the context of the alleged contretemps between Warne and Ponting at Edgbaston.

12th over: England 47-0 (led by 142 on first innings; Trescothick 27, Strauss 16) I think England will want a lead of 400 minimum here - the series is too tantalisingly poised to risk defeat. The ideal is to get 400, maybe 450, and get around 15 overs at these sub-standard Aussies this evening. Back in the match, Strauss absolutely clatters a short, wide delivery from Brett Lee over the top for four. Cracking shot. Lee is getting spanked like a little kid who's just called his daddy the 'C' word and told him his breath smells of onions as well. "Well," begins a sympathetic Glenn Perry, "it's your own fault for wearing those flip-flops out at night-time, Rob." Fashion comes at a price.

13th over: England 52-0 (led by 142 on first innings; Trescothick 31, Strauss 16) Tresco is playing really nicely here (usually the cue for a flat-footed waft); there he times McGrath deliciously to the midwicket fence.

14th over: England 59-0 (led by 142 on first innings; Trescothick 36, Strauss 17) Trescothick steers Lee deliberately over the slips for four to take England's lead to 200, and Australia are under the hammer here all right. The non-use of Warne is bewildering.

15th over: England 64-0 (led by 142 on first innings; Trescothick 41, Strauss 17) Warne comes on at last, and Trescothick makes an impressive statement of intent by smearing his first ball over midwicket for four. It might end in tears, but who cares: England need fast runs, and whether they lost one wicket or ten is an irrelevance. Unless they're bowled out for 64 of course.

WICKET! England 64-1 (Trescothick b McGrath 41) After ten days of Frank Spencerish slapstick, Glenn McGrath was due some luck, and he got some there. Trescothick played an orthodox defensive stroke, but as he set off to look for a quick single, the ball bounced up and then looped onto the top of his stumps. The end of a good innings.

16th over: England 66-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 17, Vaughan 1) Vaughan leans into his second ball outside off like a chav on a dancefloor and is only denied a boundary by a cracking diving stop from specialist gully fielder Matthew Hayden.

17th over: England 70-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 17, Vaughan 5) Nice shot from Vaughan, who works Warne through midwicket for his first boundary. For those who care, meanwhile, it's 0-0 after 20 minutes at Highbury.

18th over: England 71-1 (led by 142 ON FIRST INNINGS SO YOU ADD WHAT THEY'VE GOT NOW TO WORK OUT THE LEAD: 213! 213! IDIOTS; Strauss 18, Vaughan 5) McGrath trots in gently around the wicket and beats Strauss with the ease of a man conducting an experiment on a dying ant (which is admittedly only dying because he's just stamped on it) just to kill five minutes.

19th over: England 72-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 19, Vaughan 5) Strauss is playing Warne immaculately from the non-striker's end here. No emails for ages, so...

20th over: England 77-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 22, Vaughan 7) Lovely shout from Strauss, clipping McGrath through midwicket for three more. At Highbury, Jermaine Jenas has been very harshly sent off by wretched referee Steve Bennett.

21st over: England 78-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 23, Vaughan 7) Cat and mouse at the moment, as England try to milk Warne without taking too many risks at this stage. They nearly lose a wicket anyway, Vaughan chipping to mid-off where Brad Hodge takes a diving catch on the bounce.

22nd over: England 85-1 (led by 142 on first innings; lead by 227 now; Strauss 25, Vaughan 12) A moment to sum up Jason Gillespie's tour. Vaughan went up and over off McGrath and Gillespie, running round at third man, fumbled an absolutely routine take over the boundary. That was the work of a broken man.

23rd over: England 86-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 26, Vaughan 12) Warne beats Strauss with a cracker that rips back out of the rough and also keeps a fraction low. "Which pub?" says Eugene McMahon. "Am about to adjourn to one. Could go either for a footie pub (to catch the rest of Arsenal v Newc) or one showing the cricket. I assume you are watching both at once. Is the game at Highbury worth missing an hour of cricket for?" From the cursory glances I've managed, it looks like dull fare at Highbury, but Arsenal might turn it on now they're playing against ten men. That really was a wretched decision against Jenas.

24th over: England 91-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 31, Vaughan 12) A rollocking pull from Strauss off McGrath brings him his most convincing boundary of the day. "Your efforts are being appreciated here by me in Tokyo, though you may be amazed how few people are interested, in a city of 28 million," says Simon Collins. "Are we really going to beat the Aussies?" I fear we might, you know, though even if we win this game (as we should), it'd be very dangerous to write them off. For a start, I don't think the Jason Gillespie buffet will be on show in the next Test. At the moment it's like that time at school when you hear the girl you fancy fancies you. It couldn't possibly actually happen, couldn't really be true. Could it?

25th over: England 93-1 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 34, Vaughan 12) There's still an element of the learner driver about Strauss's attempts to play Warne, but here he forces nicely through the covers for two.

WICKET! England 97-2 (Vaughan c sub (Hodge) b Lee 14) Still no sign of Gillespie, as Lee replaces McGrath, but the decision is justified with the wicket of Michael Vaughan. Lee dug it in, and Vaughan just helped it on its way down to fine leg, where Brad Hodge judged an awkward chance superbly.

26th over: England 99-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 36, Bell 1) As if I don't have enough trouble watching cricket, football AND failing to come up with anything remotely witty, some dude has just asked me to review his fantasy team. Er, you can take those Liverpool defenders out for a start - and Wes Brown, who isn't a first-choice. My Guardian Fantasy Chairman team, since you asked, is: Van Der Sar, Cole, Rio, King, Gardner (R), Alonso, Makelele, Fletcher, Reyes, Collins John (to be replaced by D Bent at 10.31am tomorrow morning), and Ruudy.

27th over: England 100-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 36, Bell 2) Here's Matthew Innes. "You might want to replace 'led by' with 'lead by'. Also, your quips about your drinking have me rolling about on the floor. You're such a funny guy! Keep it up! I wish I was your friend." Yeah, wish I was your friend too, pal. England LED by 142 on first innings; they now LEAD by 142 + whatever their second-innings score is.

28th over: England 102-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 37, Bell 3) Bell survives in bizarre circumstances. A short ball from Lee beat his attempted pull stroke to nail him in the breadbasket before flying back, hitting leg stump pretty hard - and not dislodging the bails. "Why don't they put Freddie & Pietersen in to score some quick runs?" says Dom Booth. "WIth the prospect of a bit of rain and quick runs needed it seems silly not to?" Nah - plenty of time yet, and we're not immune from defeat yet anyway.

29th over: England 104-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 38, Bell 4) It's all pretty quiet at the moment, and England must be careful not to lose too much momentum here: only five runs off the last three overs. "What's it like working on a Sunday?" says Ben Yeoh. "Or is watching England in the lead so unusual, it's not like work at all? Where/what's the most unusual place/times you've had to work?" Probably during the last Ashes series - sat in the Wisden offices on my own all night, although I was allowed to work at home for the Christmas/New Year Tests and, erm, fell asleep for about three hours during the first day of the Sydney Test. Shocker.

31st over: England 105-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 38, Bell 5) England are definitely starting to stagnate here: six runs from the last five overs now. Bell is in first gear, as you'd expect of a new batsman, while Strauss hasn't got out of second gear all innings, or indeed all series.

32nd over: England 115-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 46, Bell 7) To those asking about the football (I premise Matthew Innes is not among your number), it's 0-0 after three-quarters of the game. Newcastle's ten men are under siege, but still relatively comfortable, and Arsenal are starting to look very frustrated and vaguely petulant. I still fancy them to nick it 1-0, though. England, meanwhile, lead by 250 now, having led by 142 on first innings, and Strauss celebrates by hooking Lee beautifully for six.

33rd over: England 115-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 46, Bell 7) Warne squares Bell up with an absolute beauty, catching him plumb in front in the process. But the ball pitched well outside leg.

34th over: England 119-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 48, Bell 8) As Michael Slater and Tony Greig discuss trendy beards (yes, I thought it was an oxymoron too), Bell hooks Lee airily but safely over square leg. Not a particularly good shot. In fact, a rubbish one. England lead by 261.

35th over: England 128-2 (led by 142 on first innings; Strauss 57, Bell 8) Strauss moves to his first Test fifty against Australia with an emphatic slog-sweep off Warne; he's still nowhere near his fluent best, but this performance represents a firm step in the right direction. Sufficiently empowered, he dances down to drive Warne through midwicket for four. Shot! At Highbury, a comically unconvincing Arsenal take the lead with a Thierry Henry penalty ten minutes from time. And that's tea - England lead by 270, and I'll be back in 20 minutes. Thanks for your emails. Rob.